CookEat Recipe
Wild Boar in Dolce-Forte Sauce
Slow-braised wild boar finished in a sweet-sour sauce of currants, chocolate, pine nuts, candied peel, sugar and vinegar.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: About 1 kg boneless wild boar in one braising piece, legally supplied and professionally prepared for food, preferably with clean edible rind and about a finger’s thickness of fat; 1/2 onion; 1/2 large carrot; 2 celery stalks, each about a handspan long; A small pinch of parsley; 30 g prosciutto with fat and lean; 2 tablespoons olive oil; Salt and black pepper to taste; About 1 teaspoon plain flour; About 600 ml hot water, added gradually as needed; 40 g small dried currants; 30 g plain dark chocolate, finely chopped; 30 g pine nuts; 20 g candied citrus peel, cut into small pieces; 50 g sugar; About 30 ml wine vinegar initially, with a little more to taste if needed.
Step 2
Use a professionally prepared wild-boar braising cut from a lawful food supply. Retain the clean edible rind and fat if supplied; do not rely on freezing, curing or smoking to make raw wild boar safe to taste. Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery, parsley and prosciutto together.
Step 3
Put the chopped mixture in a heavy pan with the oil, salt and pepper, and lay the boar on top. Brown the meat on all sides over moderate heat, turning carefully, about 15–20 minutes. Spoon off much of the rendered fat, leaving the cooked vegetables and browned juices, and dust the meat with the flour.
Step 4
Add some hot water and braise at a gentle simmer, mostly covered, adding further hot water little by little when needed. Cook until the thickest part reaches at least 74°C and the meat and rind are tender, about 2 1/2–3 1/2 hours depending on the cut. The temperature is a minimum safety check; keep cooking longer if the connective tissue is still tough. Do not taste undercooked meat.
Step 5
Meanwhile combine the currants, chopped chocolate, pine nuts, candied peel and sugar in a bowl or large glass with the initial 30 ml vinegar. Lift out the cooked boar, strain its cooking juices into the pan and return the meat. Add the dolce-forte mixture and simmer gently for about 10–15 minutes, stirring the sauce until the chocolate and sugar melt and the flavours combine. Taste the cooked sauce and add a little more vinegar only if needed. Slice the boar and serve with its sauce.
Step 6
For the simpler sauce, omit the currants, chocolate, pine nuts and candied peel, using only the 50 g sugar and vinegar to finish the same braised meat. The source also permits hare: use about 1 kg jointed hare, without any boar rind or added layer of fat, and follow the same browned vegetable base, water braise and sauce; check 74°C and tenderness, beginning to check after about 90 minutes.
Step 7
For next-day service, cool the cooked meat and sauce promptly in shallow containers, refrigerating within 2 hours at 4°C or colder. The following day reheat once until all of the meat and sauce reach 74°C, and serve promptly. This is refrigerated make-ahead cooking, not a room-temperature preserve.
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